As China’s heatwave hits 104 °F in a slew of cities, people get creative about cooling off

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Written by

Obsession

The heatwave that settled over China for more than a month now is proving unrelenting, breaking 104 °F (40 °C) in more than 40 cities this month. Temperatures are projected to climb to almost 106 °F along the eastern seaboard and in Xinjiang over the next few days. Here’s how things currently look across the country, via IT Times (registration required):

The “sauna weather,” as it’s called, is starting to take its toll. Several havedied of heat strokes already, including construction workers (links in Chinese), many of whom are migrants with weak worker protections and limited health care benefits. Xinhua reported that the mortality rate for heat strokes could be as high as 50%-70% (registration required) due to lack of timely treatment. Meanwhile, a drought in Guizhou has left 1 million without a steady supply of water (video), with electricity and water usage off the charts in many other cities as well.

As temperatures soared, people all over China devised ways of beating the heat, driving what some call “the heatwave economy” (link in Chinese). On Taobao, China’s eBay-cum-Amazon, searches for heat deterrents are up, with a PR rep reporting 2.5 times as many fan sales as last year. Meanwhile, restaurants and groceries are doing brisk business in deliveries (link in Chinese).

Some have sought more active ways of cooling off. Around 15,000 people in Sichuan province, where the high was 100 °F, thronged a wave pool in a resort near “China’s Dead Sea.” Online commenters quickly arrived at a name for them: “boiling dumplings” (link in Chinese). Along with “heatwave” and “heatstroke,” “China’s Dead Sea” was among the top most discussed items on social network Sina Weibo today. Here’s a roundup of how folks around China are beating the heat:

Many around China ducked into subways in search of some cool. A glimpse at that tactic in Hangzhou:

​ (Reuters/Stringer)

In Wuhan, students at Central China Normal University began finding refuge in the air conditioned gym back in late June, when the heat wave began (most college dorms in China lack air-conditioning). Temperatures hit 104 °F there today:

​ (Imaginechina via AP Images)

When it comes to hydrating zoo animals, the key is apparently plying them with watermelons (link in Chinese). A worker at Xian Qinling Zoo tries to cool down monkeys with watermelon:

​ (Imaginechina via AP Images)

More than 100,000 people squeezed onto this Dalian beach in northern China (registration required). The brutal heat is proving a boon to China’s beach resorts, like this one: